How a Katigorah school is building resilience after 2022 Assam floods

This is the second part in a series of stories on the aftermath of the 2022 Assam Floods. Read the first part here. 

Floods in 2022 had destroyed Baleswar Higher Secondary School in Assam’s Cachar district. More than a year later, the school has managed to build back up little by little, with limited government support. The progress towards building resilience has only recently taken off and questions remain about how prepared the school is if an event of a similar magnitude were to strike again.

In 2022, the district witnessed two waves of floods, according to the state government. The first wave was from April 6 to June 12, the second lasted from June 13 to September 16. During the first wave, Assam recorded 327 per cent excess precipitation from May 12-18, 2022. In the second wave, 235 per cent excess rainfall was recorded June 12-18, 2022. 

Baleswar Higher Secondary School is one of 164 government-run high schools in Cachar. Children from 30-40 adjoining villages attend the school, located in Jalalpur in Katigorah, one of the five revenue circles of Cachar.

Read more: Assam’s Haflong swept by landslides; activists blame ‘development’

At 6 am on May 16, 2022, Baleswar staff woke up to find that the school was submerged. School principal Mushabbir Ali, the principal of the school, recalled water as high as a metre in May and June that year. 

The school suffered a great deal of damage from the floods. “Furniture was destroyed. The roofs were leaking. We also needed to repair the floor. Out of 12 computers, only two are in working condition,” Ali said.

The floods washed away 70 food bags, each containing 50 kg of rice, which was a part of the mid-day meal programme. “We reported the loss. An officer came to check but the stock was not replenished,” he added.

The school, according to Ali, did not get additional funds to repair damages caused by the flood even though a government official had visited the school for inspection.

The school received some assistance from SEEDS, a New Delhi-based non-profit, to help rebuild. Solar panels and roofs were installed and floors repaired. The roof now also has a drain to get rid of excess water.

Read more: Analyzing Assam’s 2022 Deluge

SEEDS also organised drills in January 2024 for disaster preparedness at the school, where students were taught how to keep themselves safe. National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Fund and the district administration organised an awareness event in the school after the 2022 flood, Ali added.

Ankita Dey, a Class IX student, said the SEEDS drill explained to students to keep a torch handy and step out with a stick. “We also were taught to store important documents in a water-proof box. I have created a chart on what to do before, during and after the floods,” she noted.

The school, too, has taken steps to increase its resilience. The school management committee, which consists of a president, vice president, Gram Panchayat president, computer expert, teachers and parents, passed a resolution in September 2023 to construct a multi-storeyed building. “The idea behind this decision was to increase flood protection and accommodate more students,” Ali said.

The school sits in a low-lying area. The management committee plans to raise the platform to the road level and then construct the two-storey building.

The school sits in a low-lying area. Photo: Rohini Krishnamurthy / CSE

Parents, who are a part of the committee, have their hopes pinned on the resolution. Assaudin, whose son is a Class VIII student in the school, called the multi-storeyed building a good idea, as it could help keep children safe. “Children can be moved to the top floor during floods,” Soma Das, a parent who is also a member of the committee, said.